1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to towing accessories and, more particularly without limitation, to hitches for connecting a gooseneck or gooseneck fifth wheel trailer to a towing vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fifth wheel hitch is used to connect a gooseneck trailer or fifth wheel trailer to a towing vehicle. Although there are variations in which such a trailer is connected to the towing vehicle, typically the trailer includes a cylindrically-shaped kingpin extending vertically-downwardly from a horizontally-oriented trailer plate, with the kingpin having a distal end with a smaller-diameter portion and a larger-diameter portion. The towing vehicle generally includes a fifth wheel hitch having a horizontally-oriented hitch plate. The trailer plate and the hitch plate jointly provide abutting bearing surfaces for operatively supporting the front end of the trailer when the trailer is connected to the fifth wheel hitch of the towing vehicle.
Fifth wheel hitches also generally include an apron extending rearwardly and downwardly from the hitch plate. An access opening for receiving the kingpin is generally centrally-located in the hitch plate with the access opening extending rearwardly to a rear edge of the hitch plate and then continuing downwardly along the apron. The apron and access opening assist a user to properly align and guide the kingpin and the trailer plate as the trailer is being connected to the towing vehicle.
Fifth wheel hitches include a kingpin receiver which generally includes a pair of opposing jaws for lockingly capturing the smaller-diameter portion of the kingpin so the towing vehicle and the trailer can operatively pivot relative to each other about a vertically-oriented pivot axis of the kingpin to accommodate yaw as the trailer is being towed around a corner for example. The fifth wheel hitch may include a gimble mounting to accommodate instantaneous variations in pitch and/or roll attitudes between the towing vehicle and the trailer.
Due to the limited space sometimes available to an operator of a truck towing a fifth wheel trailer, it is not unusual for the operator to find himself in a congested situation which requires substantially greater maneuvering space than may be available, particularly in regard to RV parks having an abundance of trees, narrow lots, and cars parked alongside streets, or narrow mountainous roads when confronted with impassable tunnels or overhead rock abutments for example. An innovation that was developed relatively recently in an attempt to overcome such difficulties are fifth wheel hitches being slidable wherein the location of the vertically-oriented pivot axis of the kingpin can be, at least temporarily, moved closer to, or farther from, the rear end of the towing vehicle. By so moving the pivot axis, the combined turning characteristics of a truck connected in tandem with a fifth wheel trailer may be sufficiently alterable to allow an operator to relatively easily escape from an otherwise seemingly impossible situation.
Also, many recently manufactured trucks have short beds wherein the front to back dimensions thereof are much shorter than the bed dimensions of trucks commonly used for towing fifth wheel trailers. As a result, a short bed truck may not provide the necessary clearance needed for maneuvering turns when used to tow a fifth wheel trailer. Slidable fifth wheel hitches may sometimes be used to provide the desired clearance needed by positioning the fifth wheel pivot axis closer to the rear of the truck, and farther from the rear of the truck when not towing a fifth wheel truck, such as for storage purposes for example.
For many prior art slidable fifth wheel hitches, two persons are sometimes needed to alter the location of the fifth wheel pivot axis: one person to operate the towing vehicle, and another person to oversee and control displacement of the fifth wheel pivot axis. Many times, a user does not have the benefit of an assistant and must work alone thereby sometimes making a difficult situation even more difficult.
What is needed is a slidable fifth wheel hitch wherein a user can easily alter the location of the fifth wheel pivot axis thereof while working alone.
What is also needed is a slidable fifth wheel hitch having a latch which automatically locks the location of a fifth wheel pivot axis of a kingpin in either a forward towing station or a rearward towing station as appropriate.